A Brief History

How a Bank and a Community Grew Together

The plot for the City of Erick was filed in December, 1901. One year later in September 1902, application was filed on 80 acres which comprised the area of the original town by Choctaw Townsite and Improvement Company consisting of H. E. and J. H. Bonebrake and Beeks Erick, for whom the town was named. This plot was inhabited by 267 souls.

A short time later the Citizen’s Bank (now First American Bank) took title to a portion of a corner lot at Main (now Sheb Wooley Ave.) and Broadway (now Roger Miller Blvd.). The authorized capital of the new bank was $5,000. By the second anniversary, total resources were $63,501.27. In 1916 the bank applied for a national charter and became the First National Bank of Erick. It was the first brick building in Erick.

By 1930 the city had grown to include 7 gins, 4 hotels, 3 cleaners, 3 bakeries, 3 movie theaters, 3 lumberyards, 2 jewelry stores, 7 churches, 10 filling stations, 4 motels, 13 cream stations and poultry houses, 3 furniture stores and many other businesses. The Depression and the Dust Bowl Days hit in the early 1930s and by 1935 there were over 100 rent houses in Erick and brick homes could be rented for $10.00 per month. Many residents abandoned their homes and left for California. However, the residents who stayed behind survived and Erick once again became a prosperous town with a population of 1,285 or more.

In 1968 the bank moved to its new and present facility at the corner of Walnut and Roger Miller Blvd. In 1972, the bank changed ownership and the new owners changed the name to First American Bank. In 1994 the employees and a group of local investors purchased the bank. First American Bank takes pride in being “locally owned and operated – to serve you better”!